Changing Destinies
by angel17712
Summary: A false truce is created to help Draco get in good graces with Hermione. But why would he even want to and how far will this 'truce' take their feelings? Whose side is Draco really on? A new professor? DMHG. email or im me w any questions! ch.5 up!
1. Letters

Changing Destinies

Disclaimer: I do NOT own any of the Harry Potter characters, as much as I wish that I do. A false truce is created to help Draco get in good graces with Hermione. But why would he even want to and how far will this 'truce' take their feelings? Whose side is Draco really on? And who's this new professor?

I'd be rich, lol. DM/HG, GW/HP. Set after sixth book. Hermione is head girl, Draco is the head boy.

Hermione laid in bed, thinking about everything that had taken place over the last several weeks: Dumbledore's death, Fleur and Bill's wedding, going to Privet Drive to collect Harry. Harry was now staying at the Burrow with the rest of the Weasley family. The wedding had been absolutely gorgeous, with Fleur wearing Mrs. Weasley's borrowed veil. Gabrielle and Ginny both wore lavender colored bridesmaid dresses. Hermione had asked Harry if he wouldn't mind that she went home for a few weeks before she went off on this mission with he and Ron. He had whole-heartedly agreed, saying that it would do all of them some good to relax after everything that had happened. So she had gone home to see her parents, not sure if it would be the last time she would ever see them. She looked at the clock on her nightstand, seeing that it was nine o' clock and got out of bed to get dressed.

After Hermione got out of the shower, she dressed and applied a small bit of makeup magically. She was seventeen now, and could legally do magic outside of Hogwarts. It was Ginny who had convinced Hermione to start wearing makeup. Hermione went downstairs to see her parents sitting at the breakfast table.

"Morning mum and dad," said Hermione.

"Morning Hermione," answered Mrs. Granger. "Hermione, a few owls came while you were getting dressed." She held a letter and a newspaper for Hermione to take. Hermione reached over to take them and saw that the top one was from Hogwarts, wondering what it was about. She opened the letter and began to read.

"_Dear Ms. Hermione Granger,_

_I hope to find that you are quite well. I am writing this letter to inform you of a few matters._

_The first matter is that Hogwarts will be open once again or another year. It took quite a bit of time for the Ministry of Magic and I to come to the mutual agreement that Hogwarts could still be a safe place, provided that the security is strengthened._

_The second matter is that we are in need of a Head Girl and you are the most qualified for the position. Please let us know as to what your answer is. If you choose to accept this position, please be in the Heads' compartment of the train on September 1st at one P.M. to receive further instruction. _

_I look forward to seeing you again for another year._

_Sincerely,_

_Minerva McGonagall_

_Headmistress of Hogwarts_

Hermione sat in her seat in a sort of daze in her seat, shocked. She hadn't expected for Hogwarts to reopen; Dumbledore's death had been all over the Prophet, along with his funeral. Hermione wasn't sure as to what would happen with Harry's plans to search for the remaining Horcruxes; she wondered what she, Ron, and Harry were going to do. Ron, she imagined, would most likely be forced to go back to Hogwarts by Mrs. Weasley. Hermione could picture the two of them having a row about it already and giggled. She didn't know what she was going to do. She was torn between going back to school and going with Harry to search for the Horcruxes.

Her parents managed to get her out of her reverie. She handed them the letter from Hogwarts and burst out "I made Head Girl!" Hermione hugged both of her parents and felt so happy. She sat back down to read the Prophet. Along with various other articles, there was a large one talking about Sirius, saying that he was innocent and had not killed anybody, least of all Peter Pettigrew. The article went on to say that Pettigrew was very much alive, and that people should be watching out for him.

Somewhere in another part of England

Draco Malfoy finished reading two letters: the first one was from Hogwarts, telling him, that, despite the _mishap_ that occurred in the last term, he had made Head Boy. Excellent. He had been wondering if he would make Head Boy, seeing as how he had tried to kill Dumbledore last year. He supposed that as Potter was the only one that had been a witness, and no one had known that Potter had been present, it made Draco technically innocent, or as innocent as a Malfoy could be anyway. He wondered who would be Head Girl. It would most likely be Granger, and if it was, it would be the worst year ever.

The second letter, however, seemed to make everything change. It was a letter from Draco's old Potions master, Professor Snape. The letter said that in order for the Dark Lord's faith to be restored in Draco, all Draco was to do was capture Granger and Weaselette. Getting Weaselette wouldn't be a problem, but Granger? She was smart, too smart, not to mention that she was always hanging around Potter and Weasel. He'd have to figure something else out. He didn't know how he felt at this point. Ever since he had met the Golden Trio, he had always wanted to be their downfall, the one to break up their clique, and now he could. On the other hand, he didn't want to become his father. He had no idea what he was going to do, and the start of his very last year at Hogwarts was looming.

The Department of Mysteries

In The Department of Mysteries, there is a black veil. If one should stand near the veil and listen, they will hear hundreds of thousands of voices, begging for help. All of a sudden, there was a great flash of light.


	2. Plans and Discoveries

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters. If I did, would I be writing fan fiction? (grins)

Thanks so much to orderly chaos for all of the help! You are so awesome!

Somewhere in London

Draco Malfoy sat in a large armchair, contemplating what he was going to do next. He had two choices: 1) he could choose to not do as Voldemort had instructed him to do,via a letter from Snape, with the knowledge of knowing that he could possibly have been instrumental in his mother's death (it wouldn't take long for the Death Eaters to find his mother, even though she had taken care to hide herself per his instructions) or choice number 2) he could do as he had been instructed by Snape, kidnap the mudblood and Weaselette, therefore making the Dark Lord happy. He would not become like his father, but he didn't know how he else he was going to keep himself and his mother safe. He surely wasn't going to go running to Potter and his precious Order. So that left him one choice. He had to do what he had been commissioned to do: he had to kidnap Granger and the Weaselette on the proper day at the proper time and take them to the Dark Lord. He already knew that he could get the youngest Weasley very easily, but how to get the Mudblood? As he sat thinking of various ways that he could get her, one crept into his mind that could be practically foolproof, if it was pulled off without a hitch. A maniacal grin came upon his face as he began to formulate his plan.

Diagon Alley

If anyone took the time to look around Diagon Alley, they would see shops lining both sides of the street, the windows papered with newly made Ministry of Magic posters that beheld numerous warnings. One would see hundreds of witches and wizards, old and young, scurrying about for their wares that were needed, and Knockturn Alley. No one seemed to notice the man that was slumped on the ground at the start of Knockturn Alley. But one person did take notice of him in the form of one Hermione Granger. She was in Diagon Alley, buying her books for her seventh year. She had stopped in at the Weasley twins' shop to say hello, which was crowded as always. She talked to Fred and George and asked them to please be careful who they sold their merchandise to. When asked why they should do such a thing, she quickly told them in a low voice about what had happened at Hogwarts. They said that they would take some caution, but business was business. Hermione bid them adieu, and left their store to buy that rest of her purchases. Once she had bought everything that she needed, she decided to walk through Diagon Alley. While walking, she passed by Knockturn Alley. She looked down the alley with disgust in her eyes. As she went to pull her eyes away from the alley, her eyes fell on a man that looked familiar to her. 'There's no way that I could possibly know him at all, he's just some poor wizard.' But as she continued to look at the man, a startling realization hit her with the force of a truck. She ran over to the man and knelt down in front of him, taking in his features. He was very filthy, and smelled of something awful. His hair was very unkempt, as were his robes, and he had a bit of a beard growing on his face. His eyes were closed as though he were sleeping. Now that Hermione had gotten a closer look at the man, she knew who he was. 'How could it be him? There's no way that it could be.' She knew that she needed to get out of here, before something bad happened to her. She had already passed her apparition test, having done so just before going to Privet Drive to retrieve Harry. She gathered her things in one arm, held onto her wand with her hand, put one arm around the man as best as she could, then thought of the place that she wished to go to, and disappeared with a POP!

Near Number 12, Grimmauld Place

Hermione appeared in another alley that was right next door to Grimmauld Place. The safest place that she could think of right now was number 12. She couldn't take him back to her home for obvious reasons, and she wasn't about to take this man to the Burrow, as much as she loved it there. She looked out, making sure that there weren't any muggles walking past. There weren't any, and the street had no cars driving on it. As quickly and carefully as she could, she managed to get herself and the man inside of number 12. Once inside, she carefully shut the door behind her, so as not to set off Mrs. Black's portrait. She levitated the man to the closest couch she could find, laid him down on it, then placed her schoolbooks on a nearby end table. She sat down on the coffee table, which was rare for her to do, as she hated sitting on tables, and looked the man over. He was still very much asleep. She pondered how on earth this could have happened and what was she going to do. She needed to tell someone, and she knew exactly who to tell, but she didn't know quite how to tell them. She would just have to tell them, that was it. She scurried about, looking for parchment, a quill and ink. She sat down and the desk and quickly wrote out a letter to someone who she was very close to. She carefully explained that she had found someone that was unconscious, who she knew, in an alley while doing her shopping and had brought that person back to Grimmauld Place. She asked the person that she was writing to come as soon as they possibly could to number 12 and signed it with a flourish. She sent the letter off with her owl that she had bought, Neptune, and sent her off with the letter to Harry. Hermione went back to the couch where the guest was laying. She waved her wand and taking care, she levitated him upstairs into a bedroom and placed him on a bed. She sat there in amazement thinking about how quickly her day had been turned upside down.

Some time later, as Hermione was cleaning downstairs, she heard the front door open and close. She immediately went to see who it was that was there. Harry, Ron, Mrs. Weasley, and Ginny had all come in answer to Hermione's letter. She took a moment to look over Harry. He had gotten quite tall, as had Ron. His black hair was still as messy as ever, his green eyes were just as bright, although there was a bit of hollowness to them now. Hermione could see that Harry didn't like being back in this home. She walked over to him and gave him a hug.

"Hi, Harry. I'm glad you could finally come."

"It's good to see you again too, Hermione," said Harry as he hugged her back. "So what happened? Your letter didn't say much."

Hermione sat down with a sigh, wringing her hands. "I know. I don't even know how this happened, or how this person could have gotten where they were. I mean, one second, I'm shopping, and the next, I see them," Hermione babbled.

"Hermione, slow down," said Ginny.

"Harry, I don't know how to tell you this. You're going to think I'm going mad or something," said Hermione.

"We won't think you're going mad, Hermione. Just tell us whatever it is that you have to tell us," said Ron.

Hermione took a deep breath.

"Well, Harry, I'm not quite sure how to tell you this, but the person that I found in an alley is…"

Yeah, I know, you probably hate me by now, lol. Please review!


	3. More Plans and Many Conversations

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters, J.K. Rowling does.

Thanks goes out to manicalydelicate. This person knows who they are.

Somewhere in London

Draco continued to sit in the large armchair. He had lost track as to how long he had been sitting there. He had only gotten up a few times, either to use the restroom, get something to eat or drink, and to stoke the fire. He had already decided that he was going to do as he had been commissioned, he was going to kidnap Granger and Weaselette. Now the proverbial question was, how was he to go about fulfilling his task? It wouldn't take anything to get Weaselette; in all honesty, all he probably had to do was tell her that Potter wanted to meet her, go to the place he had told her to meet Potter at, then stupefy her. If he couldn't get Weaselette, he'd at least get the Mudblood. One person was better than nothing, right? Now, how to get Granger. He had considered many plans, from making a Polyjuice Potion and making himself look like a Gryffindor to putting her under the Imperious and just directing her as to where she was to go. As he went on, each plan seemed to get more and more crazy, as well as making it more likely that he be found out. As he sat thinking about what he was going to do, it came to him. It was a complete stroke of brilliance. He could have smacked himself for not having thought of it earlier. The plan was practically foolproof: He would go to her, whether it be on the train, or at Hogwarts, and corner her.

'It'd be a whole lot easier if she were just Head Girl.' He didn't know for sure if she had been selected for the position, but he was fairly positive that she had been chosen for the job. "And if she has, then that makes it all the easier for me to do what I have to do." Once he cornered her, he was going to start an argument with her, call her a few names, then act as if he had just come up with the idea that they call a truce. He planned to give her the story that they should call a truce because they would be working together, and Inter-House relations and whatnot. He knew that she would almost indefinitely fall for it. Now, he only had a few problems: One, getting her to believe that he was being honest; Two, manage to maintain her trust; and three, he had to work hard and train himself to not call her mudblood or any other names anymore. If he was going to call a truce with her, he couldn't very well keep calling her a mudblood. There was no way that she would continue to keep their truce if he called her a mudblood. Once he figured out how he was going to do all of that, the only thing that he had to worry about was Granger finding out, because if she did, she'd most likely hex him from there to the end of the earth. Now, to go about putting his plan into motion.

Number 12, Grimmauld Place

"Well, Harry, I-I'm not quite sure as to how to tell you this, and maybe you had better sit down (at Hermione's suggestion, he did), the person that I found in the alley was Sirius."

There was an eerie silence. For what seemed like an infinite amount of time, no one spoke. Hermione looked at everyone, trying to gauge their reactions. Ron, Ginny, and Mrs. Weasley all had looks of shock on their faces, but Harry's face, his was a myriad of emotions. She couldn't tell if he was happy or sad, glad or angry. She finally decided to break the silence ever so very carefully.

"Harry? Are you all right?"

"Hermione, please tell me you're not kidding, that this isn't some sort of twisted, sick, cruel joke."

Hermione stopped wringing her hands and looked at Harry, right in the eyes. "Harry, I'm not kidding, and this isn't some sort of joke. I'm quite sure that the man upstairs in the bedroom that I found is Sirius Black."

Harry was at a loss for words. He was having a hard time finding his voice. Once he did, he found that it was very shaky. "He-Hermione, are you completely sure? I mean, how did you find him? When? Where?"

"One question at a time, Harry. I was doing my shopping for my school things in Diagon Alley. I was walking around and I just came upon him. He was near Knockturn Alley."

Before Ron could ask her, she cut him off. "No, Ron, I have no idea as to how he is here or how he even got here. That is a mystery to me."

"Well, has he woken up? Is he all right?" asked Mrs. Weasley.

"He hasn't woken up at all since I brought him here. As for being all right, he looks fine. He looks as though he hasn't eaten in ages though," said Hermione.

"He probably hasn't. Who knows how long he's been here for, you know, and not…"Ginny trailed off. There was no need for her to finish her sentence, as everyone knew what she meant.

"Well, this certainly makes things exciting. Okay, do you think you lot can behave while I go in the kitchen and make some dinner?" said Mrs. Weasley sternly.

"Yes, mum," answered Ginny and Ron simultaneously. Harry and Hermione both caught Mrs. Weasley's stare and nodded.

There was once again a frightening silence. Ginny decided to break the ice. "So, Hermione, have you been having a good time with your parents?"

Hermione had a look of horror and realization etched on her face. "Oh, no, my parents! I was supposed to be home hours ago!"

"Hermione, you're of age now, remember?" said Ron.

"Yes, I know that, but still. I'm going to owl them and let them know that I'll most likely be staying her because of what's happened. Is that okay, Harry?" asked Hermione. She hurriedly found parchment and a quill. She scrawled a quick letter to her parents, letting them know that she was safe, and that she most likely wouldn't be coming home that night. Once she finished writing the letter, she sent it off with Neptune, who had returned shortly after Harry and the Weasley's had arrived.

Harry nodded woodenly, still trying to process all of this information. Sirius, his godfather, was still alive. Harry had yet to see him, but he sincerely doubted that Hermione would tell such a large lie. He couldn't believe it at all. For a long time after Sirius had died, all Harry had done was want for him to be alive. Now he was, and Harry didn't know what to do.

Hermione looked at Harry. He looked as though he was in shock. Of course, who wouldn't be in shock? He had just been told that the person who had been his last living remaining relative, but who had been previously dead, was now currently alive and upstairs. It would have been a lot for anyone to take in.

Ron and Ginny sat there silently, exchanging a few looks every so often. Neither of them knew what to say. They were both somewhat shocked, although perhaps not nearly as badly as Harry. They both had no idea of what this meant for either Harry or Sirius. At the beginning of the summer, Harry worked hard to clear Sirius's name in regards to Sirius having supposedly killed muggles and Peter Pettigrew. Deciding that the fact that the Minister of Magic wanted him to become the Ministry's poster boy, he decided to use that bit of pull and use it to clear Sirius's name, and it worked. Under the influence of Veritaserum(which he had willingly offered to take, so that everyone knew that he had nothing to hide), he told the Wizengamot everything that they needed to know. Once he had, Sirius's name was immediately cleared and Harry was presented with the Order of Merlin, First Class, and he accepted as Sirius was not alive to accept. The next day, there was an article in the Daily Prophet talking about what had gone on the previous day. The article did say that Sirius Black's name had now been cleared due to a confession under the influence of Veritaserum. Sirius was now a free man and didn't have to worry about the public.

Harry decided to break the silence this time. "Is it all right if I go and see him?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes, but why are you asking me, Harry? This is your house. You don't have to ask for my permission."

Harry shrugged. "Just thought that it'd be appropriate, what with you having been the one who saved him and all."

"Go on up. He's in the first room on the left, just off of the first landing," said Hermione.

All four of them walked upstairs to go see how Sirius was doing. The only sounds that could be heard were their footsteps. They reached the bedroom where Sirius was sleeping. They all took places either beside the bed in a chair, or they sat gently on the bed so as to not wake him up.

"He doesn't look too good," observed Ron. Indeed, he was right. Sirius looked as though he hadn't had a proper meal in a good while and had lost a good bit of weight.

"Of course he doesn't look too good, you dolt," said Ginny. "He's been, well, you know, for a long time now. So of course he hasn't eaten at all."

Harry just sat on the side of the bed, next to his godfather. It all seemed so hard to believe. The thing that he had wanted for so long was now here. His godfather was alive, and yet, he didn't know what to say or do. He surely hadn't expected to hear that Sirius was alive, that he had been the one that Hermione had found. He was still in a state of mid-shock.

"So how was your time that you spent with your parents?" asked Ginny quietly, for the second time.

"It was great. They were glad to see me, and I was glad to see them again. I'm going to have to go home before going back to Hogwarts to get all of my things," said Hermione.

"Yeah, we just got our stuff for Hogwarts, too," said Ron.

"So, you're going back then, Harry?" said Hermione excitedly.

"Yes. I think that Dumbledore would have wanted me to come back for my last year, if he were still alive anyway," said Harry regrettably. He felt as though it was his fault that Dumbledore had been killed. He had been standing just mere feet away from him when it had happened. He thought that he could have done something more to stop Dumbledore's death.

Hermione looked at Harry and knew exactly what he was thinking. "Harry, don't blame yourself."

This pulled Harry out of his reverie. "What?"

"It's not your fault. You couldn't have done anything to stop Snape from killing Dumbledore. You said it yourself: Dumbledore put a spell on you and you couldn't move. I think that he went out there with you that night, knowing what was possibly going to happen. He had prepared himself for it," said Hermione.

"She's right, mate. You couldn't have done anything to prevent it at all. I think it would have happened no matter what," agreed Ron.

"Look, at it this way, Harry. At least you know what happened to Dumbledore, and who it was that killed him," said Ginny, trying to look positively at the situation.

"Yeah, if Snape hadn't done what he did, then Dumbledore would still be alive!" said Harry angrily. Harry was determined to get revenge for Dumbledore's death on his most recent DADA teacher. He now had a perfect reason to take care of Snape.

"Harry, calm down. It's all right," said Hermione gently.

"No, it's--" Harry was cut off by Sirius's movement.

"He's waking up!" said Ginny excitedly. She was quickly shushed by Ron and Hermione.

Sirius laid in the bed, in a small amount of pain. He groaned as he slowly woke up and opened his eyes. He opened his eyes to see four teenagers surrounding him.

The first thing out of his mouth wasn't a greeting or a sarcastic comment. No, the first thing out of Sirius's mouth was "How- how did I…?"

A/n- I've done it again. LOLOLOL. Whew! This chapter is my longest yet. J Hope you liked it! Let me know what you think! You guys probably know what he's going to say though. Please read and review!


	4. Awakenings

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling does, the amazing author that she is.

A/N- just as a small side note, this fan fiction is set after HBP.

This chapter is dedicated to trish. she knows who she is. love ya girl! thank you to orderly as well!

Somewhere in London

For the past several hours, Draco had been formulating his plan, as well as putting it into action. He had been given a mission and nothing was going to stop him from completing it. He already had his whole plan laid out. He had to get Granger to trust him, but he had to make absolutely sure that no one, especially Granger, found out about what he was planning. If anybody found out, he knew that he would be screwed, and not in a way that he wanted to be. Anytime that he so much as thought about her, he constantly kept catching himself, trying to train himself to not call her 'Mudblood'. If he was to pull off this plan, he had to do it perfectly and concisely. He couldn't afford any mistakes at all.

Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place

The first thing out of Sirius's mouth was "How did I get here?"

"What, no 'Hi, how have you been?'" joked Ron.

"Ron!" scolded Ginny.

Hermione answered his question. "Sirius, I found you while I was doing my shopping in Diagon Alley and I brought you here. I thought that it would be the safest place for you to be at the present time." Hermione paused, unsure as to how to ask her next question. "Sirius, how did you get to Diagon Alley? The last time any of us checked, you were, well, you know."

Sirius knew full well what she meant. He had been dead and gone for a long period of time unknown to him. He sat silently, trying to regain his bearings. "Hermione, I don't know how I got to Diagon Alley. One second, I remember being behind the veil in the Department of Mysteries, and when I woke up, I was here. I must have blacked out."

"Ginny, go get Mum and tell her Sirius is awake," said Ron. She nodded and quickly exited the room.

"Are you all right, mate? You've been kind of quiet," said Ron.

Harry shook his head to clear it of his thoughts. "Yeah, thanks, I'm good." He looked at Sirius, still unsure as to what to say. For months, Harry had wished that Sirius was still alive. He had mourned his death, and now, Sirius was in front of him, in flesh and blood. Finally, Harry seemed to have found his voice. "I just can't believe that you're alive."

"You're just as shocked as I am, Harry. We all are. I don't know how I got here, but I've been given a second chance, and I'm going to use it. But never mind that. Can someone help me sit up?" asked Sirius.

Harry and Ron each helped Sirius sit up. Just after they finished getting comfortable again, Mrs. Weasley and Ginny came into the room. The look on Mrs. Weasley's face was one of utter shock. She found herself speechless. "H-how.."

"I'm not sure, Molly. But I'm not too worried about it. I see this as a second chance for myself and Harry."

Mrs. Weasley, who had been crying, wiped her eyes quickly. "Well, as much as I'd love to stay and chat, I'm in the middle of cooking dinner right now, Do you feel up to eating Sirius?"

Sirius nodded whole heartedly. "Yes, very much so. Thank you, Molly."

She nodded. "Before I go, Hermione, may I use your owl? I need to send a letter to Minerva."

Hermione gave Mrs. Weasley her consent. Mrs. Weasley went back downstairs to finish dinner. After she left, there was a very awkward silence. Ginny was the one to suggest that they should leave Harry and Sirius alone to talk. Ron and Hermione both agreed, saying that they would be nearby if either Harry or Sirius needed them.

Once Ron, Ginny, and Hermione left, there was once again an awkward silence. Neither male knew what to say to the other. Finally, Harry spoke.

"I'm sorry for what happened."

"Why should you be sorry? It wasn't your fault, you didn't kill me," explained Sirius.

"I know that, but I still could have done something to stop your death. If I hadn't been so involved with what I was doing, I could have helped you."

Sirius leaned forward, and placed both of his hands on Harry's shoulders. "Listen to me. It's not your fault. You couldn't have done anything to stop Bellatrix from killing me, no one could have. Everybody was involved with their own battles, there was no way that you could have stopped her. So, please for my sake, stop beating yourself up about it. Okay?"

Harry nodded. "That's just what Ron, Hermione, and Ginny were trying to get me to understand about Dumbledore."

"What happened to Dumbledore?" asked Sirius confusedly.

Harry sighed. He had forgotten that Sirius didn't know. He didn't want to have to tell him about something so big so early, but he was going to find out sooner or later. "Sirius, this is going to be a bit of shock, and I'm sorry to have to tell you this, but at the end of last term, Dumbledore was…he was killed."

Whatever Sirius had been expecting, that most certainly had not been it. Harry could tell by looking at Sirius that he was very upset, and Harry could understand why. Dumbledore had been instrumental in making his escape from Hogwarts possible. Sirius owed Dumbledore his life, and now Dumbledore was dead. After a moment of silence in reverence for the great wizard, Sirius asked "Who killed him?"

Harry quickly answered "Snape." Sirius reacted instantly. He looked as though he wouldn't mind being put back in Azkaban again for killing someone. At least this time, he would actually be guilty for the crime. Harry knew that he had to calm his godfather down, otherwise there was going to be some bloodshed.

"Sirius, listen. We can't do anything right now. We don't even know where Snape is right now, okay? So let's not get worked up, all right?" Harry looked at Sirius for confirmation until Sirius gave Harry a slight nod.

"So, what's happened since I left?" asked Sirius.

"Quite a bit," answered Harry simply. He proceeded to tell his godfather about everything that had happened since he had died: from his most recent year at Hogwarts to his private lessons with Dumbledore to his search for the Horcruxes. Just as he finished telling Sirius everything that had transpired, Mrs. Weasley, Ron, Ginny and Hermione came in with food.

"Here you are, dear." Mrs. Weasley placed a tray in front of Sirius that held a bowl soup and some crackers, along with a glass of water.

"Thank you very much, Molly." Sirius immediately began to eat his food hungrily. The others started eating as well. For quite a while, everybody continued to eat. No one said a word. Once they were all finished, Mrs. Weasley gathered the dishes and told everyone that they needed to leave soon so Sirius could get some rest. For the first time in a long time, Sirius wasn't haunted by demons in his sleep; for once, he slept soundly.

The next morning

When Sirius awoke the next morning, at first, he had no idea where he was. After a few moments, he realized that he was in his home. He laid in bed, thinking about everything that had happened to him in the last twenty-four hours. He was alive, he had been given a second chance, and there was no way that he was going to pass it up. He carefully raised himself to a sitting position, then swung his legs over the side of the bed. He slowly raised himself to a stand, as he didn't want to risk getting hurt. He took a few steps about the room very slowly. He continued to slowly walk around the room. Once he knew that his legs weren't going to give out on him, he headed downstairs.

Everyone was already in the kitchen eating breakfast when Sirius came down. They looked up when they heard footsteps to see Sirius standing there.

"Well, you're looking better," said Ginny.

"Thank you." Sirius sat down at the table and helped himself to some food. After the meal, Molly magically whisked away the dishes to be washed. The house needed a little bit of cleaning done, so Harry, Hermione, Ron, and Ginny went to take care of that, leaving Sirius alone with his thoughts. Everyone had been giving him space, so as to let him adjust at his on pace. He couldn't believe his luck. He knew that he was incredibly lucky to be alive now and intended to take that to his advantage. The first thing that he knew he had to do was get a job, although he didn't know how on earth he was going to do that. There was still the matter of his innocence to deal with. As he sat at the table, deep in his musings, he heard the front door open and shut, then heard his mother's portraits' racket.

"FOUL, FILTHY SCUM! FILTHING THE--"

As soon as she started she was shut up. Whoever it was that had come in had obviously had enough sense to shut her up and not Now Sirius had to see who was here. He went up the stairs cautiously. He had no idea who was there. He reached the top of the stairs to see one Minerva McGonagall in his home. He was altogether surprised to see her here. When she turned around and saw him, her hand flew to her mouth.

"Sirius? How d-did you…?"

Sirius knew what she was asking him: how was he alive and how did he get here? "I don't know how I'm alive, Minerva. As for being here in my house, Hermione found me in Diagon Alley while she was doing her school shopping." All the while as she spoke, he slowly walked towards her and led her to a couch in the living room.

"I'm sorry, it's just come as quite a shock."

"You're not the only one," replied Sirius.

"Does Potter know yet? Where is he?" she questioned.

"He knows, and yes, he's here. He's off cleaning with Ron, Ginny, and Hermione somewhere."

At that moment, Mrs. Weasley came into the living room. "Hello, Minerva, you're looking well. I see you must have gotten my owl."

"Yes, I did, although it came as quite a shock when I found out that a former student of mine was alive and well. Now that I am here though, I need to speak privately with Sirius," said McGonagall.

"It came as a shock to the rest of us as well. I'll be in the next room if you should need me," said Mrs. Weasley as she exited the room the way she came.

"I heard about Dumbledore's death. I guess that must make you Headmistress now," said Sirius quietly.

"Yes, I am." Sirius could hear the regret and sorrow that was laced in her voice; the regret for the fact that she was not able to save a great man from death, and sorrow for said man's death.

"It's not your fault, you know," said Sirius gently.

"I know."

"On a lighter subject, are you going to continue teaching as well along with your duties as Headmistress?" questioned Sirius.

"Yes. I should be able to handle it all." The two continued to talk for a short while about a range of topics. The topic came around to Sirius and what he was going to do now that he had been given a second chance.

"I want to get a job, but I don't see how I can, what with my still being a wanted man and all," said Sirius morosely.

"What are you talking about? Do you mean that no one has told you yet?"

Sirius looked confused. "What are you talking about, Minerva?"

"You're a free man now, Sirius."

"What? How is that possible?" asked Sirius, who was evidently shocked.

"Harry did it. He used his pull, if you will, with the Ministry. He agreed to be given Veritaserum in front of the Wizengamot. He told them everything that he knew concerning your innocence, and how you did not kill anyone all those years ago. You were presented with the Order of Merlin, first class, which he accepted on your behalf. You're a free man now, Sirius Black," said Minerva.

"I'm free. Free," he repeated. The word sounded so foreign to him, coming from his lips. He had long forgotten what it had been like to roam any street as a free man, no having to walk about as an Animagus, worrying that he might be apprehended and forced to go back to Azkaban.

"Yes, you're free. Now that you know, I have a proposition for you. Hogwarts is in need of a teacher for the upcoming year," said Minerva.

This quickly shook Sirius from his current train of thought. "Hold on, Hogwarts is going to be open? But I thought that with Voldemort being at large and with Dumbledore being gone and all.." he trailed off.

Minerva flinched at the Dark Lord's true name. "Yes, Hogwarts is going to be open. We will have many Aurors stationed all over the grounds. Security will be strengthened more so than it already has been. Now, for my proposition, are you interested at all?" asked McGonagall, fixing him with a stare.

Sirius sat quietly, trying to absorb everything. McGonagall was sitting in his house and she was offering him a job. A real job. And at Hogwarts of all places. He'd be able to see Harry whenever he wanted to see him.

"All right, I'm interested. What did you have in mind?" he asked.

"Well, I'm not sure if you will want to fill this certain position. The position that I need you to fill is…

A/N- I did it again! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Anyone care to take a guess at what position she's going to ask him to fill? First person to get it right in either a review or an e-mail will receive congratulations on the next chapter, maybe even a dedication to them. Hehehe :) Please, please please review! They're a girls' best friend! Until next time!


	5. Shopping and Realizations

-1Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Harry Potter characters.

I promised to dedicate this chapter to the first person that guessed correctly what job that Sirius was going to be offered. So this chapter is being dedicated to Allie Maria for guessing correctly. Yay!

Secondly, I would like to thank everyone who's been reading this story for continuing on with it. Thank you so much and thank you for all of your reviews!

Thirdly, I would like to thank both orderly chaos and cuteblndegoodness for their help. Cuteblndegoodness, thank you so much for your help and for giving me the idea to use at the end of this chapter! You're awesome!

I'm sorry that it's taken so long to get this chapter out. I just started my classes and they are totally insane! On with the story!

"The position that I need for you to fill is Defense Against the Dark Arts. I know that you were never very fond of the subject, but you greatly excelled in it," said Minerva.

Sirius was looking at McGonagall as though she had sprouted a second head. Him, teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts? When he practically despised it? But then he remembered what she had said, that although he couldn't stand the subject, he was very good at it.

"What happens if I don't accept the position?" inquired Sirius.

"Then I will have to find someone else to fill the post. We need the post filled, you need a job, you are good at it, which therefore makes you an excellent candidate for the job," said Minerva as she ticked off every reason on one hand. "Would you like the position or not?"

Sirius did some quick thinking. It was now or never. If he didn't take it, he'd never forgive himself and think 'what if I had taken the job?' He wasn't going to play that game now, not now that he had been given a second chance at life.

"All right, I'll do it. I'll take the job," said Sirius.

Minerva smiled inwardly. She had known that he would take the job, he just needed a little bit of encouragement. He was the best person for the job and he happened to need one as well.

"I need to be going. There are only a few more days until the start of the term. I shall see you on September 1st," said Minerva.

Sirius stood up with her, and shook her hand. "Thank you, Minerva. You have no idea as to how much this means to me."

She smiled knowingly. "I think I do. I'll see you soon."

Sirius walked her to the front door. He held it open for her and shut it behind her as she left. He walked numbly to the couch and sat down. He was very surprised. He was now a teacher. There were things that he had to take care of and he only had a few days to do so. He went upstairs and showered quickly. He went downstairs to let Molly know that he had to go out for some things, but before he left, he asked her if she knew where his wand was. She stopped what she was doing and retrieved his wand from his old bedroom. Before he left, she had to ask him a question.

"Sirius, where are you going?"

"I have some things to take care of in Diagon Alley. If Harry should ask, I'll be back soon."

"All right, be careful," said Mrs. Weasley.

Sirius exited his house and apparated to Diagon Alley. He had a great many things to do while he was there.

Diagon Alley

Diagon Alley was bustling with people as usual. No one paid attention to the tall, handsome, blond man as he strode down the pathways, going from shop to shop, getting the things that he needed. As Draco Malfoy obtained all of his school things, he thought about the plan that he had concocted to get Hermione Granger to trust him. It absolutely had to work; there was no room for error. He knew that he could pull it off without a problem. He would have to act as though he normally would, making fun of her and her friends, then approach her later with the idea of a 'truce'. Potter and Weasel would kill him if they ever found out about his plan. No, they would skin him alive first, then kill him. It was imperative that they never find out. His plan would backfire in his face and he wouldn't be able to complete his task. He looked skyward, seeing that it was quickly getting dark. He had one last stop to make. He quickly made his way to Flourish and Blotts for a book that he had remembered that he had wanted to buy and walked inside, shutting the door behind him. As he made his way over to the shelf where the book that he wanted resided, he saw someone who looked familiar, as though he had seen him before. After taking a closer look and scrutinizing the man, Draco realized that the man that he was looking so closely at was the former man who had been condemned to a life sentence in Azkaban and his second cousin, Sirius Black! 'But how in Merlin's name is he alive? Here?' Draco pondered all this and more. He seized a nearby copy of the Prophet, reading the front page article, which talked about Sirius being an innocent man now. Draco supposed that there would be an article in the Prophet the next day with an article that revealed that said man was currently alive. There would be a field day about it, Draco was sure of that. He quickly obtained the book he had come for and paid for it, whisking himself away from the shop.

A few weeks later

On both sides of the magical barrier that was at King's Cross Station, there were many people rushing to and fro, trying to get to their destinations. On the magical side of the barrier, there were many students and parents who were saying goodbye. Many parents had tears in their eyes as they hugged and kissed their children goodbye, then watched their children board the scarlet train. One could hear the sounds of owls hooting, cats meowing, trunk wheels rolling on the ground, and the sobs of some parents. All of the parents were very afraid for their children; they didn't want to be away from their children in this time of war, but they knew that their children needed the education if they were going to grow up to be wonderful witches and wizards. Hermione looked over the scene wistfully, knowing that this was her last year that she would be going to Hogwarts. She had already gotten all of her things, hugged and kissed both of her parents, saying that she would write to them, then said goodbye. She looked around for some familiar heads when she heard someone calling out her name.

"Hermione!"

She turned around to see Mrs. Weasley, Ginny, Ron, Harry, and Sirius coming her way. She ran over to meet them. Sirius looked much better than the last time that she had seen him. He looked much younger and healthier, his face had been shaved, his hair cut, and he was wearing new robes. She looked Harry and Ron over. Both of them seemed to have grown a foot each over the summer. Both were looking wonderful and Quidditch had done them well. She gave all of them hugs, although it was rather hard for her to give Ron one because of his height.

"It's good to see all of you again," said Hermione.

"Did you have a good rest of the summer?" asked Ginny.

"It was wonderful, but I did miss all of you. Now, let's get on the train, or it will leave without us," said Hermione.

Everyone except Sirius hugged Mrs. Weasley goodbye and started to board the train. Hermione was last to get on, and as she did, she noticed that Sirius was getting on the train with her.

"Sirius, why are you getting on the train?" she asked.

"I'll tell you later," he whispered back

Hermione shrugged. He must have some reason for not telling her. The group of five quickly found themselves an empty compartment, put their trunks on the racks, and sat down just as the train was pulling away from the station. Ron noticed that Sirius was with them as well.

"Oi, Sirius, why are you on the train?"

"It's been years since I've been in the school, Ron. I just thought that I'd come on the train with you lot to the school, go see it, then apparate back," Sirius lied. He hadn't told any of them that he had accepted the position as the new DADA teacher, much less that he had been asked to do it. He was going to surprise them all. Hermione looked skeptical, but Sirius caught her eye, and slightly shook his head, as if to ask her not to say anything.

Hermione stood up and retrieved her robes, pulling them on, then started pinning her Head Girl badge to her robe.

"Hermione, you never told us that you got Head Girl!" exclaimed Ron.

Hermione blushed. "I'm sorry. I meant to tell you all, it just slipped my mind what with everything that happened."

"Well, I'm not surprised," said Harry.

"You're not?" asked Hermione.

"Definitely not. Hermione, you've had the highest marks of everyone in our year. I knew that you were going to be selected as Head Girl without a doubt. You'll do an excellent job," said Harry.

Everyone else nodded their consent while Hermione looked sheepish. "I'm going to go take a walk. I'll see you later." With that, she exited the compartment and shut the door behind her. As she walked down the corridor of the train, she would peer in through some of the compartment doors as she passed. She was shocked to see that some of her fellow classmates had decided to come back, such as Seamus Finnigan. She remembered that he had had a row with his mother about his leaving Hogwarts. She would have to ask him about it later. As she continued to walk down the corridor, two figures came running up to meet her: Parvati Patil and Lavender Brown. She was surprised to see Parvati; she had been taken away by her parents, and Lavender, her mother had died not a year earlier.

"Hi, Hermione! How was your summer?" asked Parvati.

"It was wonderful! What about both of you?"

"Oh, we both had wonderful summers," said Lavender. She looked cheerful despite everything that had happened to her. She quickly decided to change the subject.

"Have you seen him yet, Parvati?" said Lavender excitedly.

"Oh yes, he looks positively gorgeous this year, even better than he did last year!"

"Who are you two talking about?" interrupted Hermione.

The two girls ignored her. "I know. Merlin, you could get lost in those eyes," said Lavender dreamily.

"Well, we have to be going, but it was nice to see you Hermione. We'll see you at the school," said Parvati. She grabbed Lavender's hand and puller her back in the direction of their compartment.

Hermione was confused. She had no clue as to who on earth they had been talking about. Oh well. It was best to just leave it alone. She continued to walk the corridors, lost in her musings. As she turned a corner, she ran smack into what seemed like a wall and fell to the floor. Hermione stood up, dusting herself off and cursing herself for her stupidity.

"I'm sorry, I wasn't paying any attention to where I was going," said Hermione apologetically.

"You had better watch where you're going next time, Granger," drawled a smooth voice.

Hermione instantly looked up when she heard the familiarity of that voice. Her eyes flew up to meet the mysterious person's face, their eyes connecting. When she saw whose eyes it was that she was looking into, she put two and two together and quickly realized that the person before her was the person that Parvati and Lavender had been blabbering on about. They had been right, you could get lost in those eyes, those stormy grey eyes. 'Not that I would ever want to,' she quickly told herself. 'Sure you don't,' said her conscience. 'You and every other girl in the whole school.'

Hermione shook her head to rid herself of these thoughts that were currently running through her head. 'I can't think about him like that. He's the enemy.' This thought seemed to make Hermione happy as long as she constantly chanted it in her head. She turned her gaze back to him, looking at the front of his robes. There, pinned on the front of his school robes, was a Head Boy badge. Her worst, unspoken fears had been confirmed: Draco Malfoy had been made Head Boy, despite everything that he had done last year. Had Professor McGonagall just decided to completely forget everything? Had she gone mad?

"You've got to be kidding me…"

Yet another cliff hanger! Sorry! I had to do it, lol! Stay tuned for the next chapter. Please review! Thanks!


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